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Ebook Publisher Power Rankings: Top Publishers of 2014…So Far

The DBW Ebook Best-Seller Power Rankings is a list of publishers whose ebooks have appeared on the weekly DBW Ebook Best-Seller list. The publishers are listed in order depending on how many appearances their titles made on the ebook best-seller list on a week-to-week basis.

The two largest trade publishers in the world controlled nearly two-thirds of all ebook best-sellers in the first half of 2014.

Penguin Random House and HarperCollins combined to appear on the Digital Book World Ebook Best-Seller list a combined 406 times out of a total of 650 possible, about 65%. Penguin Random House led the way with 250 best-sellers (40% of the total) and HarperCollins had 156 (nearly 25%). The two companies also combined for 19 No. 1 best-sellers out of 25 total. HarperCollins had 12, driven by the success of Veronica Roth’s Divergent in the first quarter, and Penguin Random House had seven.

Hachette, Amazon and Simon & Schuster rounded out the rest of the top five, combining for about 26% of the rest of the best-sellers. Self-published authors, if taken as a group, clocked in at No. 6, publishing 4% of the best-sellers, including a No. 1 best-seller.

The standings remained basically unchanged from the first quarter (see second chart below).

In the second half of the year, we will witness a drop-off in self-published best-sellers due to the effects of Kindle Unlimited and the methodology of the DBW Ebook Best-Seller List.

That said, it cannot be understated what an amazing accomplishment it is for even one self-published title to make the best-seller list. They are often priced far below traditionally published ebooks but that should not diminish the accomplishment of attracting hordes of readers over the course of a week (check the DBW list methodology; it’s not easy to make it).

There are publishers with hundreds of employees all pulling in the same direction — to publish hit books — that have not seen the same success in the first half of the year. Even after the methodology of the list changed, self-published authors continue to generate best-sellers, too.

4 thoughts on “Ebook Publisher Power Rankings: Top Publishers of 2014…So Far”

Big publishing houses still have control but I see them going the way of the Camera shops and record stores. People want good entertainment and how can that be encouraged if the author has to spend not only their time, energy, and talents but worse their own money out of pocket because these big houses won’t even take the financial risk. They only want the rewards. Support the Indy’s and encourage the “artists” to do their job even better by paying them their fair share. Music artists demanded a revamp of their system in the 80’s and it’s time for the book world to do the same.

I was considering using a company called Smashwords to self publish since I could do it at little or no cost. I don’t see them on this list. Does anyone have any information on this company? I have a finished book and here at the last minute, I see they are no where near even a moderate success level in e-publishing.

Don’t waste your time with this if you are a struggling author trying to get published. Unless your book is published FIRST in conventional form, hard cover or paperback, and gets a GOOD review in the NY Times or another major paper and makes the best seller list–your book will linger unknown and unrecognized somewhere with all the others out there in the digital jungle.

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